1. Real Weddings

Brianne & Derek: An Outdoor Wedding in Santa Ynez, CA

Brianne Chapman and Derek Leavitt transformed a beautiful family ranch for their summery outdoor wedding, guided by a punchy color palette and a cool

Brianne Chapman and Derek Leavitt transformed a beautiful family ranch for their summery outdoor wedding, guided by a punchy color palette and a cool design sense. The Bride Brianne Chapman, 26, advertising executive The Groom Derek Leavitt, 28, architecture associate The Date June 25 Derek spent Christmas Eve with Brianne and her family, but the couple agreed to exchange each other’s gifts after the rest of the house had gone to sleep. Late that night, Derek lit the fireplace, set up dozens of candles...and proceeded to trick Brianne into thinking there was nothing else up his sleeve. As Brianne remembers, she opened her Christmas gifts from Derek without really suspecting there was more afoot. “Even though I was suspicious, I still didn’t know it was coming,” she says. “But then he said, ‘wait, there’s one more thing....’” Out came the ring, down went the knee, and the college sweethearts were happily engaged.

The eight-piece band paused long enough to let Brianne and Derek cut the wedding cake: a four-tier square confection striped with the theme colors of coral pink, light pink, golden yellow, light yellow, kiwi green, and aqua. Each layer featured a different delectable flavor: chocolate cake with milk chocolate and raspberry filling, vanilla cake with strawberry filling, vanilla cake with custard and toasted coconut filling, and hazelnut cake with milk chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream filling.
The Reception Decor
Brianne and Derek held a preceremony cocktail hour with sangria, hors d’oeuvres, and a flamenco guitarist. Once all the guests were assembled, they moved to the outdoor ceremony site. “We held the ceremony on the top of a hill with a 360-degree view of rolling hills in the Santa Ynez wine country,” Brianne remembers. “The ceremony took place right at sunset and was bathed in the warm glow of the setting California sun.” The bride rolled up to the ceremony site in style in a horse-drawn carriage, which later carried the newly-married couple off into the sunset.
Brianne’s strapless diamond-white gown by Maggie Sottero featured pearl and crystal detailing and a drop-waist with an A-line skirt tiered in plain and pleated organza. The tiered drop-waist silhouette was echoed in the bridesmaids’ colorful tea-length chiffon dresses, custom-made by Brianne’s mother, Melissa Chapman. The bride’s crystal and pearl lariat necklace finished off the look.
After Brianne and Derek’s sunset wedding, their 200 guests moved on to dinner and dancing in the large tree-shaded back yard of the ranch’s main house. Here, the couple’s vibrant color theme joined another strong design element: the square. Square beribboned lanterns hanging in the old oak trees, a square-shaped cake, and square tables, plates, and centerpiece containers created a unified, chic look that was anything but, well, square. Each table was named after a wine varietal (taking a cue from the wine country setting) and featured linens and flowers in one of the six theme colors.
Brianne and Derek danced their first dance to an unusual choice: Genesis’ “Follow You, Follow Me.
Brianne and Derek gave each guest a silver heart wine bottle stopper. We thought it was a nice final nod to the wine country, says Brianne.
Derek’s mother graciously held the wedding at her home, a ranch in the Santa Ynez wine country, while both of the couple’s families hosted together. “Having the wedding at a private residence proved to be a ton of work,” Brianne says. “Derek’s mom dove heart-and-soul into getting her ranch wedding-ready!” The vibrant summery color palette included coral pink, light pink, golden yellow, light yellow, kiwi green, and aqua. Brianne’s mother generously offered to create bridesmaid dresses in the wedding’s signature colors, and the color theme also showed up in the cake, invitations, and flowers, as well as the ribbons swaying from lanterns in trees around the property.
The Ceremony Decor